


New Beginnings

by washurocket



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/F, F/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:00:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24684250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/washurocket/pseuds/washurocket
Summary: Takes place after Season 5. New relationships are blooming (finally!) while new adventures and shenanigans await.After Chapter 5, my goal is to post new chapters weekly.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	1. Starting Anew

Chapter 1: Starting Anew

The magic of Etheria was incessantly healing the planet, filling it with lovely creatures that had not been seen in ages, fragrances that were unfamiliar yet oddly satisfying, and colors Adora didn’t even know existed. The breathtaking scene before them continued to spread out, growing, changing, and mending itself. Every time she blinked, something new and wonderful would appear.

  
Adora cherished this new sense of tranquility, but it also felt strange and unsettling. For her whole life she grew up focused on fighting the oppressive princesses, desiring nothing more than to end their tyranny once and for all. On the discovery of She-Ra, her focus shifted to fighting the Horde and the people she had considered to be her family. Switching sides wasn’t that difficult, with exception to becoming enemies with her closest friend. Watching the pain of betrayal Catra had to endure was excruciating, but there was nothing Adora could do. She had to keep fighting for what was right, with or without Catra by her side. There had always been some war going on, some battle that needed fighting, a town that needed rescuing. But now there was nothing left to fight.

  
Not that she would have it any other way. It would just take some time getting used to this. She never realized just how unhappy she was until this very moment as she took everything in with her best friends by her side. This was exactly what she had always wanted without knowing it. The soft purrs of Catra next to her made her smile.

  
“So you were finally able to turn into She-Ra in the end,” said Glimmer.

  
“I was, but with help.” Adora shifted her gaze to Catra and grinned.

  
“What exactly happened?” asked Bow.

  
“Well we…. um… that is…” Where to even begin? Everything happened so fast, or at least it felt that way. She also didn’t know what to say, or not say, about what happened with Catra. What if she made too big of a deal of the kiss? But it was a big deal, wasn’t it?

  
Glimmer and Bow were now crouched in front of Adora, their eyes glittering with excitement.

  
“It sounds like you have a story.”

  
“Tell us!”

Catra groaned, “Adora, just get it over with. They’re going to find out eventually.”

  
“Are you sure?”

  
“Yes, I’m sure!” 

  
“Ok.” Adora took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “Well, you see…”

  
“There you are!”

  
“Aaah!” All of them jumped as King Micah came forward. Catra grabbed Adora’s wrist and squeezed tightly. Adora winced, but on the realization that the interruption wasn’t a threat, Catra quickly relaxed her grip.

  
“I was wondering where you snuck off to.”

  
“Daaaaad!” groaned Glimmer.

  
“Now that’s a sound I have truly missed. But daaaaaaaad!” Everyone snickered while Glimmer, who was less amused, got to her feet.

  
“We were kind of in the middle of something here.”

  
“Planning your next adventure?”

  
Glimmer shrugged as the others stood up. “Well…yeah.”

  
“I know you are all anxious to move on, but might I suggest you go to Bright Moon first for some food and rest? It’s been a long journey for everyone, and I am sure you are all exhausted and in need of some proper nourishment.”

  
“We could do that,” said Glimmer.

  
“That sounds like a great idea,” agreed Bow. Catra and Adora nodded.

  
“Great! Now let’s go round up the others and see who else cares to join us.”

  
“I doubt many are going to come. They all have their own kingdoms.”

  
“True, but as king and princess… err, queen, we still have to offer up our hospitality.”  
Bow leaned over to Adora and whispered in her ear “you’re not off the hook yet! You’ll tell us when we get to Bright Moon.”

  
“I know.” Bow ran ahead to join Glimmer and Micah while Catra took ahold of Adora’s hand.  
“We have to talk about it, too.”

  
“We will. I think that will be much easier than telling Glimmer and Bow.”

  
“Because you know they’re’ going to make a big deal about it?”

  
“Yeah. And they will.”

* * *

Upon King Micah’s proposal for joining them at Bright Moon, everyone had their own plans ready to go.

“I’m going back to Plumeria. I’ve been away far too long,” said Perfuma. “But you can come visit any time!”

“I’m taking my beloved back to Salineas!” said Sea Hawk.  
“Could you please not call me your ‘beloved?” Despite the usual annoyance in Mermista’s voice, her smile did not go unnoticed.

“We’re in!” said Spinnerella, as she leaned against Netossa. That was predictable.

* * *

“I’m going back to the Fright Zone,” said Scorpia. “I left some things behind that I’d really like back, assuming they are still there.”

  
“Like what?” asked Catra. “I doubt you’re going to find much. Last time we were there, it was in ruins.”

  
“Scorpy!”

  
“What?”

  
“Scropy, my plush scorpion! It’s one of my only possessions I’ve had since my parents were still alive.”

  
“That is so sad!” Perfuma’s eyes began to water. “You should go get your Scorpy, and I can come help!”

  
“But I thought you said you had to get back to Plumeria?”

“I do, but this is more important!” She grabbed Scorpia’s claw. “Friends stick together! And when you find your Scorpy, you can come back to Plumeria with me!”

  
“Is that really a good idea?” Scropia was skeptical as she remembered the stuff that Perfuma considered to be ‘food‘ and wasn’t enthralled by the idea.

  
“Of course it is! Everyone is really kind and welcoming. Plus they are all huggers!”

  
“You got me on huggers!”

* * *

“We’re also going to the Fright Zone!” said Entrapta, pointing towards Hordak and Wrong Hordak. “There’s still so much tech there that needs to be recovered! Plus I want to show it to Wrong Hordak!”

  
“Why are you called Wrong Hordak?” asked Hordak. Wrong Hordak shrugged and winked, leaving Hordak even more confused.

* * *

“I’m going back to my kingdom as well,” said Frosta. “But…would you mind if I come visit now and then?” she asked, sheepishly. “The Kingdom of Snows can get kind of lonely.”

“Of course you can!” said Micah, as he scooped her up in a hug.

  
“Arg! Let go!”

* * *

“I need to return to my mission of liberating the horses of Etheria!”

  
“Is that really necessary?” asked Adora. “I mean the planet is healed and all.”

  
“No!” Swift Wind stomped his hooves. “There are still injustices to my horse companions, and I must free them! Of course, if She-Ra ever needs me, as her faithful steed I’ll be by her side in an instant.”

  
Adora put her hands gently on Swift Wind’s muzzle. “You are going to do great things. I’ll miss you.”

  
“And I’ll miss you, too.”

* * *

“I know I should get back to Mystacor and evaluate what damage has been done,” said Castaspella. “But I haven’t seen my brother in ages, mostly because I thought he was dead, but I’d really like to catch up.”

  
“I’d appreciate your company.” Micah agreed.

  
“And I can knit you a sweater!”

  
“Does she still do that?” Micah whispered once Castaspella was out of earshot.

  
“Oh yeah,” grumbled Glimmer.

* * *

“Meeeeeeeew. Mew, mew, mew. Meeeew.”

  
“What’s she saying?” asked Adora.

  
“Melog would like to accompany us,” said Catra. “She wants to visit other planets and spread magic to them, just like with Etheria.”

  
“Meeeew!” Melog pushed her head against Catra’s side, demanding head scratches with Catra obliged. 

* * *

“Well, I think this is all of us.” King Micah, Glimmer, Bow, Adora, Catra, Netossa, Spinerella, Castaspella, and Melog stood together in a group, surrounded by their friends. “Though we are parting ways for now, we will unite together soon, but this time in a world of peace.” There was laughter and clapping as Micah took ahold of Glimmer’s hand.  
“Are you sure you have enough strength to teleport us back to Bright Moon, Baby Girl?”

  
“Yes, and I’m ready.”

  
Adora looked around at all of the people who fought alongside She-Re, who believed in her, themselves, and each other. That is how they won. Together. She smiled and gave a little wave as Glimmer teleported their crew back to Bright Moon.


	2. Home

They appeared on one of the balconies of Bright Moon, not far from Shadow Weaver’s garden. Adroa had seen her tending to the garden often, but never had the plants looked so lush as they displayed flowers in an array of colors strewn amongst different hues of green. She-Ra’s magic had never felt so powerful before, and it was remarkable at all it could accomplish.

“It’s so good to finally be back!” exclaimed Spinerella, as she breathed in that glorious Bright Moon air.

“Let’s go!” Netossa grabbed Spinerella’s hand and the two women giggled as they disappeared inside the castle.

Glimmer fell to her knees, clutching her chest and panting.

“Glimmer!” Bow crouched down beside her and put his arm over her shoulders. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m ok.” Glimmer clenched onto Bow’s arm and slowly pushed herself upwards, her body wobbling with every movement.

“Take it easy, Glimmer,” said Micah.

“No, seriously, Dad. I’m ok. I think you were right, we could all use some rest.”

“I got her, King Micah. Sir,” Bow stammered.

Seeing that Glimmer had all the support she needed, Adora turned to find Catra, who had already wandered away from the group. She was perched on the parapet, watching the citizens of Bright Moon returning to their homes below. Her hand was absently scratching Melog’s head as Adora joined them.

“So this is Bright Moon. It looks pretty nice when it’s not under siege.”

“It is.” She wanted to address the siege comment but thought better. “It doesn’t look like there was a lot of physical damage done while we were gone. We left in a hurry, because there was no way we could protect the people with attacks coming from above. Fortunately, an empty kingdom wasn’t worth Horde Prime’s attention.”

“He didn’t want destruction. He just wanted control.”

“And we stopped him.”

Catra smiled. “Yeah, we did.”

“It’s good to be back,” sighed Micah. “This time I hope to stay here longer.”

“Brother, it’s good to have you back, and alive. I’ll do my best to make sure you are back on your feet before returning to Mystacor.”

“Thank you, Casta. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Dad… I’m sorry for… earlier. I know you were just trying to help.”

“Don’t be, Glimmer. You’re still a kid.”

“Dad, I’m not a kid anymore! Didn’t you see everything we did to fight off Horde Prime? Kids can’t do that!”

“No, they can’t. And that’s what concerns me.”

“What do you mean?”

“How long have you been an adult?”

“Huh?”

“Exactly. You’ve never had time to be a kid, have you?” He looked up at the others. “None of you have.”

“Catra and I were taught to fight our whole lives. We did do some kid stuff with the Horde, I guess.”

“But you spent most of your life training as soldiers.”

“Well, yeah.”

“We didn’t really have a choice,” said Catra, as she slid off the parapet.

“But you do now. Go get some rest. We’ll have a nice meal ready when you wake up.”

“Thanks, Dad,” said Glimmer. As Micah watched them start to depart, it occurred to him that he had to take his first action as Glimmer’s father. Well, his first action in awhile, that is. He was rusty and knew she wouldn’t appreciate it, but it had to be done, and it had to be done now. He cleared his throat loudly.

“Bow, a quick moment please.” Bow turned around while still supporting Glimmer. “You do have your own room at the castle, yes?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. I prefer you stay in your own room. Is that clear?”

“With all due respect, Glimmer and I have sleep overs all of the time, and with her condition…”

“Sleep overs?”

“Well it’s not just me and Glimmer. Adora is with us, too.”

“Adora?”

“Bow, shut up,” murmured Glimmer. “You’re making it worse.” She looked at her dad and gave a nervous laugh. “Don’t worry about Bow. We’ll all be in our own rooms. It’ll be fine! Ok? Ok! Bye nooooow” And with that, the four of them and Melog left.

Micah sighed. “Should I be worried about him?”

“No, Bow is a good kid,” said Micah.

“That’s a relief. My Baby Girl has grown up so much. I’ve missed a lot.”

“I know, brother. We are just glad to have you back, especially since we thought you were dead.”

“Thank you, Castra. But you know what question I have to ask.”

Castra sighed. “I know.”

“Please, tell me. What happened to my sweet Angie?”

* * *

The thought of a bath and sleep in her own room sounded absolutely perfect to Adora. Exhaustion was finally catching up to her, and she was fairly certain she didn’t smell like anything close to Perfuma’s flowers. Why was she so ambitious of spreading magic across the universe when her body was telling her otherwise?

“Your father is terrifying!” said Bow.

“Well, yeah. He’s my dad and I haven’t seen him in forever. He’s going to be overprotective.”

“True, but at least he’s not as bad as…” Bow wisely caught himself before finishing his sentence, but the injury of his words had already been done. Glimmer lowered her head while Catra pawed at the floor with her foot.

“I’m sorry about your mom.”

“What’s done has been done,” said Glimmer, as she pushed Bow’s arm off of her. “What we need to know now is…”

“Ut oh,” said Adora, as she could see that hungry sparkle in Glimmer’s eyes.

“What happened with She-Ra?”

“Before Adora tells you anything, promise you won’t make a big deal out of it.”

“We can’t make any promises!” said Bow, proudly.

“Aaaaarg!”

“Ok, ok. Look, I’ll make it quick. Catra and I made it to the Heart of Etheria, but I couldn’t transform into She-Ra so I decided to sacrifice myself and Catra wouldn’t leave me despite me asking, so I let the heart take the fail safe, but I ended up in this vision of the future, or whatever that was, and the vision was everything I had wanted, but then Horde Prime appeared and was like “yeah, that’s not going to happen because I’m going to get the heart first!” and I was really mad and ready to give up, because there was nothing more I could do, and then I heard Catra’s voice telling me not to give up because I never give up on anything, and then she said she loved me, and I told her I loved her, too, and then we kissed and I turned into She-Ra and used the sword to bring life back to Etheria and end Horde Prime once and for all.”

There. She told them. How much of it did they actually catch? Judging by the goofy looks on their faces, they caught the part she had tried to skid over. It wasn’t that she was ashamed, but more embarrassed, and worried how Catra would take it.

“I have sooo many questions!” said Bow. “Are you saying you turned into She-Ra because you and Catra kissed?”

“How was Horde Prime there? Was he projecting himself?”

“If you turned into She-Ra because you kissed, does that mean Catra turned into Cat-Ra? Wait, that doesn’t make sense.”

“What vision of the future did you see? Were we in it?”

“What about Mew-Ra? No, that just sounds dumb.”

“Stop!” Adora shouted. “Look, we’re all tired. I can give more details later, but now you know generally what happened. I haven’t even had a chance to take everything in yet myself.”

“And I asked you not to make a big deal about it,” Catra grumbled.

“Which we never agreed to!” Bow pointed out.

“You’re right, Adora. We’re sorry,” said Glimmer. “But can I ask just one question?”

“What?” Adora sighed.

“Just to clarify, you guys finally admitted you loved each other?”

“Yes, we did…” Adora blushed. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘finally’?”

“Oh come on, Adora. It was obvious when we first met you that you and Catra were more than just friends.”

“But with all of the fighting and conquering kingdoms and attempted murders and weird time space portals, and....”

“I said I was sorry!”

“I think it’s sweet,” said Glimmer. “In the end, it was the love you had for one another that saved Etheria.”

“Huh… yeah, I guess it did. I hadn’t thought of it that way,” said Adora.

“I thought that was pretty obvious,” Catra mumbled.

“At least that will give you something else to think about. Oh, and Bow and I are couple now! I think?” She looked at Bow for verification.

“We are.” They nuzzled noses.

“I guess we should get some rest, like we keep talking about and not doing. Catra, you can take Scorpia’s old room. Adora can show you.” Catra nodded. “And Bow, you’d better head to your room quickly, so my dad doesn’t get suspicious.”

“I’m on it!” Bow took off down hallway at top speed.

“I’m really happy for you two,” said Glimmer, smiling. “You’ll have to tell us more later, but it sounds like you have some catching up to do first. See you laaaaater!” She gave a little wave before heading towards the same direction as Bow.

“Well, it’s done. They know.”

“Sort of. You said everything so fast even I had a hard time following.”

“I was just nervous how you would take it. I know you weren’t looking forward to them knowing what happened.”

“That my kiss saved Etheria?”

Adora put her hands on her hips. “Your kiss?”

“Hey, I initiated it.” Catra stuck out her tongue. Adora wasn’t in the mood to argue, and she was pretty sure that Catra was right. “The truth is, it’s not that I didn’t want them to know. It’s just… your friends get so weird about personal things, and I don’t like people knowing about my… feelings. It was hard enough just to tell you that I…”

“Love me?”

“Yeah.”

Adora grabbed both of her hands. “Can you say it again?”

Catra smiled. “I love you, Adora.”

“And I love you, too, Catra. I always have.” Adora wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly. “See? You don’t always have to hide your feelings. It’ll get easier.” She could feel the tears coming to her eyes, a combination of fatigue and the fear of losing Catra again. “I’m just glad to have my best friend back.”

“Me too.”


	3. You Are My Strength

“This was Scorpia’s room?”

“Yup!”

Catra looked around the room in awe while Melog curiously bounced around checking everything out. Adora remembered how she felt the first time Glimmer showed her her room. It seemed like ages ago.

“I thought she was one of your prisoners or something?”

“Yeah, about that. At Bright Moon, prisoners stay in one of the spare rooms. There are usually guards, but as long as they don’t pose a threat, they have full access to the castle.”

Catra sighed. “You guys are so weird, though it makes sense with everything else. How have they not been infiltrated from the inside?”

Adora shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“They’re lucky someone like me was never a prisoner. The things I could have done…”

“Catra…”

“If I was still with the Horde. Come on, Adora, don’t take things so seriously. Did Double Trouble have a room like this?”

“Sort of, but he was more heavily guarded. So was Shadow Weaver, for a little while anyways.”

“Shadow Weaver…” Catra shook her head “After everything she’s done to us, after everything we’ve been through… why do I feel sorry that she sacrificed herself to save us?”

“I feel the same way. Maybe it’s because we are better than her and have sympathy for others.”

“You were always her favorite.”

“Only because of what I could give her. She reminded me often that I was no one without her. Guess she was wrong there.”

“She was wrong about a lot of things.”

“True. Is there anything I can get you?”

“No, I think I’m good. There’s a bed, and that’s pretty much all I need.”

“Ok. Well, if you think of anything, or if you want to talk, my room is down the hall.” Adora yawned and stretched. “I think I’m going to take a bath before going to bed.”

Catra shuddered, “Better you than me.”

Adora closed the door behind her and wandered towards her room. She was glad to have a few moments to herself; so much had happened in such a short period of time. It seemed that once she thought they had a plan together, something new and terrible would arise. Constantly she found herself on the go without having time to stop and recollect herself. If it wasn’t trying to find a way to rescue Glimmer it was dealing with the unpredictable threats of Horde Prime’s army of clones. Every time she tried to reach She-Ra for help, she failed, leaving her feeling disappointed and useless. When she finally got to taste She-Ra’s powers again, only when they were in a dire predicament, She-Ra disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

Then after finally finding Glimmer, it was Catra, of all people, who had saved her. Saved them all. She had been the biggest surprise. Adora had no clue what happened to her after Horde Prime’s ship appeared. It wasn’t that she had forgotten about her, but more that seeing her old friend again seemed implausible. Every time Adora reached out to Catra and thought she was making some success, Catra would pull further away. Adora had only fantasized that Catra would come back. She didn’t expect her to join their team and help them. Of her being by her side during what Adora thought were the last moments of her life. Of her finally admitting her feelings both were too scared to say out loud. Of her lips pressed gently against hers when all hope of winning seemed lost….

Feeling drained and light-headed as she entered her room, Adora promptly made her way over to the bathtub. Gathering together a concoction of oils, herbs, and soaps, she prepared the bath, placing a couple of towels and some clean clothes on the floor nearby. As she sank into the warm water, she instantly felt her past worries and fears dissolve, leaving behind a relaxing sensation that Adora had never experienced before. It was like having someone she loved dearly embracing her in a comforting hug, reminding her that everything was over. Everything was ok again.

She looked up at the door from a sea of bubbles. She wanted to give Catra her space, something she often needed. At the same time, she wouldn’t be surprised in the least if her friend came by.

Then came the knock at the door. “Adora? Can I come in?” There it was.

“Sure.”

Catra opened the door and cautiously stepped inside.

“Hey. Since you said I could come if I wanted to talk, I figured I’d take you up on that.”

“I thought you might come by. Where’s Melog?”

“She’s out wandering the halls.” Despite privacy being more or less non-existent at the Horde, Catra kept her gaze towards the floor as she walked towards Adora, sitting down just far enough so she was out of splashing range with her back to her. “Nice room. No wonder you never wanted to come back to the Horde.”

“You know that’s not why…”

“I know,” Catra turned and grinned. “Just have to give you a hard time. It’s always so easy to do with you.”

Adora grinned back. “That’s the Catra I know.” She desperately missed her friend and cherished even the simplest of moments like this. “I know we have a lot to talk about, I just didn’t know if you were up for it yet.”

“I am. I want to talk.”

“Ok. Where do you want to start?”

“You mentioned a vision of the future. What was that about?”

“If it really was a vision, I can’t give you details. But, do you remember when we went to get the fail safe, and you asked me what I wanted?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, on our way to the Heart, I found Mara as She-Ra of the past, and she told me she sacrificed herself so I wouldn’t have to. Then she asked me the same thing you did, what did I want? The truth was, deep down I knew what I wanted, but it seemed so far out of reach that I tried not to think about it. Then, when we were at the heart, that’s when I had a vision of the future. There was Glimmer and Bow and you. We were all together, laughing and having a good time. It was exactly what I wanted, without me realizing that’s what I really wanted, if that makes sense.”

“Sort of. So what you really wanted was to be with your friends?”

“Yes, but more importantly, I wanted to be with you. Catra, I hope you know that I never meant to hurt you.”

Catra sighed as she put her head between her knees. “I know. The truth is… I did want to hurt you. I wanted you to feel the pain I was feeling. I wanted you to suffer. I wanted to be someone important without constantly being in your shadow or being your sidekick. Some friend I was, huh?”

“That’s why I kept trying to reach out to you! But it only seemed to make things worse. I knew my best friend was still in there, which is why I didn’t gave up. I came close, but a part of me was always ready for you to come back. You were so angry, and yes, I blame myself for leaving you behind. Again, I never meant to hurt you and I never wanted to see you suffer. Not once did I see you as my sidekick or as someone unimportant. A lot of those thoughts came from Shadow Weaver.” The tears were in full flow now; Adora watched Catra rub her eyes with her sleeve and felt a sense of relief that their feelings were mutual.

“Yeah. She was pretty terrible.”

“You know, Shadow Weaver told me often that you were a distraction, that you got in the way of me reaching my full potential.”

“Yes, I’m quite aware. Thanks for reminding me.”

“But Catra, she was wrong. You weren’t my weakness at all. You were my strength. Without you by my side, I wouldn’t have been able to turn into She-Ra and we wouldn’t have saved Etheria. We can’t change the past, but we can change our futures, and having a future with you in it is what I’ve wanted for a long time now.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Catra smirked. “That kiss was pretty epic.”

Adora felt her cheeks grow hot and knew it wasn’t because of the bath. “Yeah, it was.” She leaned over the side of the tub and grabbed one of the towels.

“Adora? Can I… stay with you?”

Adora smiled. “Of course you can.” She wrapped the towel around herself as she got out of the tub.

“Thanks. I really… what happened to your back?”

Adora pulled the towel up as Catra got to her feet. “It’s nothing.”

“No, that’s not nothing.”

“Catra, don’t worry about it.”

“I want to see!” Adora tried to dodge away but Catra was faster and managed to successfully pull the towel down enough to see long scars etched down the side of Adora’s back. She took one of her hands and lined her claws up with the lines of the scars. They matched perfectly.

“I did this to you.” Adora pulled the towel up again as she went to get her clothes. “I remember. It was the battle at Bright Moon.”

“It’s fine, really. It’s healed.”

“No! It’s not fine! How can you say it’s fine? I hurt you, and it was all out of spite! How can you forgive me after what I did to you? After what I’ve done to your friends? How can you be that stupid?”

Adora, now fully dressed, walked over to Catra and wrapped her arms tightly around her. “Because I love you.”

As Catra cried, Adora continued to hold her tightly. No words needed to be said.

When she finally started to calm down, Adora let her go.

“Let’s have a sleepover, like we used to do at the Fright Zone.”

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

Adora took the mattress off of the bed and laid it on the floor while Catra gathered together some blankets and pillows.

“At least we don’t have to worry about getting caught by Shadow Weaver,” said Adora, as they settled in.

“Or Lonnie. ‘Will you two keep it down? I’m trying to sleep!’”

Adora laughed. “Remember when we kept hiding Kyle’s left shoe and he thought some sort of ghost was doing it?”

“Oh yeah, that was great. It was even better when we gave him a break for like, a week, and then we started hiding his right shoe.”

“Why do ghosts care about my shoes?” said Adora, in a poor imitation of Kyle.

“Yeeeah. Good times.” As Adora started to close her eyes, she felt Catra snuggle up against her.

“I missed you, Adora.”

“I missed you, too, Catra.”


	4. A Problem with Clones

An infinity of Horde Prime clones surrounded her, chanting something strange Adora couldn't quite make it out. She caught the words 'shadows,' 'suffering,' and 'pure.' Whatever it was, it didn't sound good.

Wait, how did she even get here?

She looked around desperately for her friends. Surely they had to be near by. She began to run; the only path available to her she was made up by a wall of clones.

"Glimmer? Bow?"

No response, just the disturbing chanting.

"Catra?"

"Hey, Adora." Catra was floating high up in the darkness, sneering at Adora.

"Catra… what's going on?"

"You are so predictable. You just walked right into my trap."

"Trap? That doesn't make any… AAAAAAH!" The clones were gone, and now Adora was falling.

"I thought we were friends again!" Adora shouted, as she continued to plummet into the darkness with Catra floating a few feet in front of her, her hands to her side.

"Friends? No. After what you did to me, after you left me behind, we will NEVER be friends again." The cold bitterness in her voice distinctively came from Adora's enemy, not her childhood companion. That version of Catra was long gone, and it was her fault. "Bye, Adora." Catra faded away.

"Catraaaaaa!"

Adora jolted up from her bed, grasping for breath. I took her a moment to calm herself down and differentiate between what was the dream and what was reality. She was back at Bright Moon. Horde Prime had been defeated, and she and Catra were friends again… but where was Catra? And if they slept on the floor, how did Adora get in the bed?

It looked like the sun was starting to set, so it must be early evening. She could hear faint moaning sounds from outside; it was almost as eerie as the chanting of the clones from her dream. Dream… what if this wasn't reality, but another time warp, like with the portal? Or an illusion like with Light Hope? No. this had to be real… right? But what if…

The door opened and Catra stepped inside, carrying a tray with an assortment of fruits and pastries. "Oh, good, you're finally awake. I brought up some food… Adora, you all right?"

Adora nodded. "Just a… bad dream."

"I kind of figured." Catra set the tray down on a small nearby table. "I moved you to the bed so I could try to get you to stop snoring, which worked, but then you started kicking and punching."

"Sorry about that."

"Eh. You used to do it all of the time in the Fright Zone, so it's nothing new. It's just been awhile." Catra plopped down on the bed next to Adora.

"Ok, so this is real. We defeated Horde Prime."

"Of course it's real! Why wouldn't it be?"

"It just feels too good to be real, I guess."

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Catra sighed. "I feel like I don't deserve this. That happiness is meant for others, but not me."

"You deserve happiness, Catra," said Adora, as she nudged her friend.

"So do you," said Catra, nudging her back.

"This is real then? We're really friends again?"

Catra leaned over and kissed Adora on the cheek.

"Does that feel real?"

"Yeah it does."

As Adora put her hand towards her cheek, Catra pushed herself further on the bed, gently put her hands below Adora's shoulders, and before Adora knew it their lips were interlocked. It felt wonderful to be kissing her best friend; their love had been an unspoken secret they had kept from each other for far too long.

Catra slowly pulled herself up. "Come on, you need to get something to eat."

"Ok," said Adora, shakily, as Catra went to get the tray of food.

As soon as Catra handed her the tray, Adora scarfed down the delectable treats, getting every bite in as quickly as possible. She hadn't realized just how famished she was.

"I see your eating habits haven't changed."

"Is evweone else up?" Adora asked, as she grabbed for the last pastry.

"Yeah. Bow went to visit his dads to see if they had any information on Mara's ship and First One tech. Without Entrapta, we'll need all the help we can get. Sparkles is with her father, and that Mystacor lady said she wanted to speak to you when you woke up."

"That would be Castaspella. I wonder what she wants?" Catra shrugged. The weird moaning sound Adora heard earlier invaded the room again.

"What is that?"

"Apparently it's from all the clones we left behind. Now that they are not part of the hive mind, they are wandering around the Whispering Woods moaning and complaining how they can't connect to Horde Prime."

Adora wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "We got to do something."

"Adora, you don't have to save everyone. You just won your biggest battle! Relax and let someone else handle it! I'm sure Sparkles has it under control."

"First of all, she was part of the same battle as us! Second, it's Glimmer."

"I like Sparkles."

Adora shook her head, not in the mood to argue or play along. "We can't just leave them out there like that!"

Catra rolled her eyes. "Fiiine. I knew you were going to say that. You just can't help yourself." She gave Adora a playful shove. "Let's go find, Castapella."

Castapella wasn't hard to find, since she was pacing the hall in front of Adora's door, evidently waiting for her. As soon as she opened her bedroom door, Castaspella rushed over to Adora who jumped back in surprise.

"Aaah!"

"You're awake!"

Heart racing, Adora bent over to catch her breath. "Uh, yeah. I guess I was more tired than I realized."

"Good, I'm glad you got your rest. I'm going to get straight to the point. I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"When you go on your journey across the universe, those are words I never thought I'd say in this lifetime, can you try to get any information on how we can save Angella? I'll do some research myself when I go back to Mystacor, but in my studies I don't recall anything about dimensional portals."

"Uh, sure. I mean, we'll try." Of course she would do anything to help save Glimmer's mother, but she had no clue what answers the universe may or may not have to offer. Portals weren't new outside of Etheria, so surely someone out there knows more about them?

"I know it's a lot to ask, and that you may not find anything, but I appreciate the effort. Thank you!" Castapella clasped Adora's hands in her own. "I'm so glad you and Glimmer are friends."

"Um," said Catra, nervously. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry… for what happened to Glimmer's mother." Castapella released Adora's hands.

"Oh don't worry. It's not your fault."

"I'm the one who opened the portal."

"Ok, but I'm you had no idea what would happen if you opened it."

"Well, Entrapta and Adora did try to warn me, but I didn't listen."

Castapella pursed her lips. "Well, then I guess it was your fault. But we can't look at the past, we can only change the future."

"Yeah, people keep telling me that."

"Sounds like a hint that you should follow that advice."

"There you are!" Glimmer was running down the hall towards them.

"It seems like I can't get further than the bedroom door," Adora mumbled, grinning all the same.

"Well, I best be on my way back to Mystacor. Best of luck to you all," said Castapella as she left.

"What did my aunt want?"

"She wants us to find information about your mother when we go on our journey."

"Oh."

"You sound surprised."

"My mom and my aunt don't get along, so yeah, I am surprised. I'm sure the only reason she asked was because of my dad…anyways, I have a huge favor to ask. We've got a tiiiiny problem." From the way Glimmer said 'tiny' Adora guessed it wasn't tiny at all. "Catra, did you tell her about the clones?"

"Just what you've told me. I said you could handle it, but Adora being Adora wouldn't listen."

"That's probably good because it's gotten worse. Word is there's a bunch of them in Erelandia causing a commotion. Without Bow it's up to the three of us, so let's go check it out." Glimmer reached for Adora and Catra's hands, but they both took a step back.

"Hold it there, Glimmer. Have your powers fully recovered?" asked a concerned Adora.

"Yes, they have. With the magic released from the Heart, I was able to recharge faster. I even feel stronger! Come on, now, let's go!"

"Glimmer, I…" but before Adora could finish her thought, Glimmer had already seized their hands and teleported them to the edge of the Whispering Woods, just outside of Erelandia.

"I hate when you do that!" said Catra, annoyingly.

"We couldn't wait. Look."

There were clones everywhere. All of them were hunched over, moaning about being unable to be connect to Horde Prime, afraid of what Horde Prime would think of them, amongst other depressing grievances. One or two behaving this way would have been a minor nuisance, but having a chorus of them was definitely a problem.

"We can't even have casual conversations over their racket!" said one of the villagers, a mushroom lady, who ran up to great them. "Where did they all come from, anyways?"

"It's a long story," said Glimmer. "But we are here to help!"

"Please do! No one is going to get sleep tonight if something isn't done. We can't even walk down our streets without them getting in the way, and … hey, you, for the last time get out of my flower bed!" The villager scurried off to chase one of the clones.

Glimmer put her hands on her hips. "Ok guys, I've got a plan. Adora, you'll go into the town and try to get as many clones as you can to this spot. Do you think you can turn into She-Ra?"

"I should be able to."

"Good. I think She-Ra will have an easier time herding the clones, as she kind of stands out. No offense, Adora."

"None taken."

"While Adora takes care of the village, I'll go in the woods and teleport the ones I can find. Catra, you stay here and try to keep them from wandering off."

"Why do I always get stuck with the baby-sitting job?"

"Because you're good at it, and you're more assertive."

With ease, Adora transformed into She-Ra. "I'm all set!"

"Then let's get to it!"

"Wait!" Catra called, but Glimmer had already vanished while She-Ra was charging into the village.

* * *

The clones were scattered all over Erelandia, moving sluggishly and blocking villagers from getting to their destinations while loudly droning on and on of their inflictions. This was going to be tough. She-Ra took a deep breath.

"Clones of Horde Prime!" she thundered. A few glanced up, but then immediately went back to sulking. Well, that didn't work.

She-Ra tried again, "Comrades of Horde Prime?" This time, no one looked up. She was going to have to be more innovative if she wanted to get their attention.

"On behalf of Horde Prime, I have a message for his devoted… brothers!" The clones perked up at these words of hope that their leader was calling for them and started to gather around She-Ra. Good. She got their attention, but now she would have to tread carefully in order to not escalate the situation and make things worse.

"What is the message from Lord Prime?"

"Is he well? I can't connect to the Hive mind!"

"I can't connect to the Hive mind!" The same concern escalated throughout the crowd. She was starting to lose them; she had to act fast.

"The message is simple. It's… uh… leave this village?" She wished she had thought this through more, but Glimmer was in such a hurry, she didn't really have time.

"Leave?"

"Yes. There will be a… party, for his loyal… uh, brothers, to celebrate their… um, existence?"

Yeah, that sounded terrible.

To her relief, the clones cheered for joy as they started to leave the village. At least it worked.

* * *

Glimmer was zapping in and out, gathering as many clones as she could and returning them to a frantic Catra.

"You're going too fast! I can't keep them all under control!"

"Just do your best!" She disappeared and returned with more clones. "As long as we can get them in one general area." She disappeared and returned again. "It will help."

"Easy for you to say. Hey, get back here! No, don't you go wondering off now!"

Catra was getting nowhere. Once she was able to get a small group together, she'd have to leave to chase down more. By the time she returned to the group, they had already dismantled and she was stuck starting from scratch.

This was not working.

Glimmer told her she was assertive. Her assertiveness didn't end well as a Force Captain, but she had learned plenty from her mistakes since then. Catra quickly came up with a new plan. Hopefully the clones' simple minds would be in her favor.

* * *

She-Ra scoured the village, looking for more clones who were lurking about. Even after the huge crowd departed, there were still many who didn't hear her message. She repeated it the best she could, building up her confidence each time to make it sound more convincing, not that they needed to be easily convinced.

As she rounded up what appeared to be the last one, the mushroom villager from before approached.

"Thank you so much for getting rid of them! Will you be able to prevent them from coming back?"

"I don't know, but we're going to try!"

"Please do." She-Ra sighed. That was another promise she wasn't sure she could make.

As She-Ra followed the last couple of clones out of the village, she gave a sigh of relief at the sight up ahead. It appeared Catra had successfully gotten them under control. Several clones were sitting on the ground staring up at her in admiration. Meanwhile, a line of them had formed in front of her, looking anxious and pleased at the prospect of speaking to her individually. The last couple of clones ran to the end of the line, following their brothers' lead without hesitation. She-Ra turned back into Adora.

"I see you have them under control," she said, as one of the clones Catra had been speaking to excitedly hurried off to sit with the others.

"It wasn't that hard once I had a moment to think. I just told them that Horde Prime sacrificed himself so they could be free from the Hive. It seems to help."

"My sister, what name will you give me?" asked the next clone in line.

"You're naming them?"

"Yeah, why not? They seem to like it." She turned to the clone. "From now on, your name will be Kyle."

"Thank you, little sister! From now on, I am Kyle!" The clone happily joined the others.

"You named him 'Kyle?'" asked Adora, raising an eyebrow.

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean not exactly? I just heard you!"

"Little sister, will you give me a name?"

Catra turned to the next clone. "Your name will now be Kyle."

The clone beamed. "Thank you, little sister! From now on, I am Kyle!"

"Catra, did you name all of the clones 'Kyle'?"

"Yeah… but so? They seem to like it. Besides, I couldn't think of anything else."

"Ug, this is taking forever!" groaned Glimmer, as she popped in with a couple of more clones. "At least you managed to get them to stay together, Catra. That'll help."

"I guess you were right. I am a good fit for this job."

Glimmer smiled. "I told you so! I think I got all of them, at least the ones nearby. I'll do one more check." Glimmer vanished.

Catra went back to giving each clone the special name of 'Kyle' while the already-named clones continued to gaze up at her like she was a goddess. Though to be fair, she was in their eyes.

"This appears to be the last one," said an exhausted Glimmer, as she returned one more. "How many of them do you think are there?"

"I have no idea," said Adora.

"What are we going to do with them now that we've gotten them all together?"

"I have no idea."

"You don't have a plan? Why would we do this without a plan!"

"Glimmer, this was YOUR idea!" Adora snapped.

"Oh. Right."

When Catra was finished naming them, one of the Kyles stood up in front of the others, silently making himself their spokesperson.

"My brothers! Our dear little sister has given us all names. With Lord Prime having sacrificed his life for us, let us bow our heads in a moment of silence." They all proceeded to bow and chant under their breaths. Silence was clearly not one of their strong points.

When their non-existent moment of silence was finished, the leading Kyle continued, "Now, rise, to our new leader!" The Kyles all got to their feet

"Wait.. what?"

"Our little sister needs a name! She named us, so let us name her!"

"How about Horde Prime?" one shouted. Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" said Catra, stamping her foot, while Adora and Glimmer tried to stifle their giggles.

"Our little sister has rejected the name. We have failed our leader by giving her an unworthy name fit for her excellence." They all jointly groaned in disappointment.

"It's not that I reject the name, but… it's an insult to the original Horde Prime. I can't use the same name."

The clones snapped back to being happy. They were certainly a fickle group.

"She is right! She needs a new name!"

"How about Catra?" They ignored her.

"If Horde Prime is a 'him' and our little sister is a 'her' how about Herde Prime?"

"What?" said an unimpressed Catra.

Like wildfire, the name spread and all of the Kyles began chanting "Herde Prime."

"No, that's not any better!" Adora and Glimmer could no longer conceal their laugher, and the angrier Catra got, the funnier it became.

"This isn't funny!"

"Sorry, Lord Catra," Adora poked.

"Adora…" Catra said, warningly.

"Oh come on, Catra. They're not hurting anyone," said Glimmer.

"I just don't want to be associated with… him."

"Good point."

"Sorry, Catra," said Adora, as she put an arm around Catra's shoulder

"Well, now that they seem to be settled, more-or less, what do we do now?"

"This was your plan," said Catra.

"Why do you guys keep pointing that out?"

"Because it's true," said Adora. "And you were the one that dragged us here."

"I've got an idea." Catra stood up in front of the clones.

"My brothers! At this time we must split ways, but please, listen to my words. You are now individuals. Spend your time helping others and do as your told. Don't be a nuisance, just… behave yourselves, ok?"

"Yes, Herde Prime!" They all began cheering again.

"I hate that name."

"It's hard to be individuals when they all have the same name," muttered Adora.

"Eh," replied Glimmer. "Minor details."

"How was that?"

"Best we can do for now," said Glimmer. "You did good, Catra. Your leadership skills from the Horde really came in handy. You guys ready to go back to Bright Moon?"

"More than ready," sighed Catra. "At least I won't have to hear that name for awhile."


	5. Cake, Kyle, and Other Changes

“Yuck! This is terrible!”

Glimmer giggled. “Adora said the same thing when she first tried cake. I’m guessing the Horde didn’t have a lot of sweet things.”

“We had the brown stuff or the gray stuff,” said Adora. “Sometimes the green stuff.”

“Why did you have to mention green stuff? I used to have nightmares over that.”

“Oh yeah. I remember that. Weren’t you afraid it had turned into this monster and was hiding under your cot, waiting to eat you?”

“Really?” laughed Glimmer.

“Yeah, great. Thanks, Adora.” Despite Catra’s revulsion, all three of them laughed.

After returning to Bright Moon, none of them were ready to turn in for the night. After sleeping for a good portion of the day, they decided there was no sense going to bed. Instead, they were hanging out in the kitchen, eating cake and other goodies while sharing stories. They filled Glimmer in with the events that took place at the Heart, with Glimmer’s feelings of Shadow Weaver’s demise being similar to theirs. Of course, Glimmer was more intrigued with the details of how Adora was able to turn into She-Ra and save them all.

“Bow is going to freak when he hears how your kiss saved Etheria! Mind if I tell him?”

“Go right ahead. Saves me from having to do it,” said Catra as she gave a sideways smile towards Adora.

“Look’s like the sun is starting to come up,” said Glimmer, as light from the outside slowly began creeping into the kitchen. “I told Dad I’d hang out with him today, catch him up on everything going on here in Bright Moon. Bow said he’ll be back tonight. Why don’t you two go exploring? Maybe check out the Crimson Waste?”

“The Crimson Waste?” Catra wrinkled her nose. “Why would we want to go there?”

“I don’t know. See how Huntara is doing. See what’s different since you released the magic from the Heart. There’s not much to do around here, for now anyways.”

Adora shrugged “Sounds good to me. I am curious to see how much Etheria has changed.”

“Good, and you can report back to me when you’re done.”

Right, technically Glimmer was still Queen.

* * *

Lonnie threw some more tinder on the fire. They were starting to run low on firewood, and her stomach was growling. Where was he?

Lonnie, Rogelio, Kyle, and Hordak’s former Imp had been camping out in a secluded area of the Whispering Woods for a couple of days. They had wandered about with other refugees around the time Horde Prime came down, but since his defeat everyone separated returning to their respective homes. It was now just the four of them again. The only people she could trust. As a child, she never would have imagined that there would be a day where she’d have more faith in Kyle than Adora.

But Adora left them.

Then Catra became a control freak maniac.

Now it was just the four of them, trying to get by while figuring out what to do next. For now, it was nice not having to worry about the Horde, or the insane demands of Catra.

Lonnie could feel her stomach rumble again.

Where was he?

“Hey, Imp, have you seen Kyle?” she called up to the trees, where Imp was usually hanging about. Imp gave her the creeps, but Rogelio was insistent on bringing him with them. Out of everyone, she had the most respect for Rogelio, so she didn’t argue. Imp popped out from behind some branches and shook his head.

“Rogelio?” Rogelio grunted and shook his head as well.

“He probably got caught in one of his own traps,” Lonnie sighed. Of course he would. He had certainly changed and had more self-confidence since leaving the Horde, but he was still Kyle and he would always be Kyle.

“Watch the fire,” she said, nodding towards Rogelio who nodded back in reply. She left their campsite, attempting to follow the same track where she had last seen Kyle.

“Kyle! Kyle, where are you? Did you get stuck…” A loud rumbling caught her off guard. Something was coming. Something big, and it was not Kyle. To her surprise, several of Horde Prime’s clones were charging towards her. There were too many of them for her to fight alone, and there was not enough time to run. Lonnie got into a defensive position. The only thing she could do was take down as many as she could. Hopefully Rogelio will hear and come to her aid; she hadn’t wandered that far from the campsite.

The clones stopped several feet in front of her, all of them with happy expressions on her faces. They seemed to have no interest in attacking.

“Huh?” she said, as she eased her defenses.

“We heard you call us, little sister!” said one of the clones.

“I didn’t call you…”

“But you did!” said another. “I distinctively heard you calling for Kyle. My name is Kyle!”

“And my name is Kyle!”

Each clone began introducing themselves one at a time. Lonnie just stood there, her mouth hanging open.

“What is going on….”

* * *

“Woah.”

“This is the Crimson Waste?”

It was still a desert, but there was more vegetation, more creatures, more life than they had seen before. The Valley of the Lost no longer looked like a criminal den. Instead, it had this surreal appearance as if it were welcoming families to come settle down here.

“Blondie!” Huntara called from behind some thick vines. “What are you doing here? Where are Glitter and that arrow boy?” She turned to Catra. “And why is the cat girl here? Aren’t you the one who took over Tung Lasher’s gang and attacked us?”

“Yeah.”

“And you two are now friends?”

Adora took ahold of Catra’s hand “Yup!”

Huntara shook her head. “Well, I’ve seen stranger things.” She nodded towards the scene behind her.

“Did releasing the Heart of Etheria’s magic do this?”

Huntara shrugged. “I guess so. People around here are really confused. We are used to deception, always being on our toes, never knowing who is your friend or who is your foe. Flowers and butterflies are not something we are used to.”

“How are they handling it?” Adora asked, as they into the city.

“Several left. This is too unfamiliar for them, though I don’t think they’ll find much better elsewhere. Most are just cautious, slowly trying to feel things out.” Adora noticed someone carefully reaching out to touch an orange berry hanging from one of the vines. As soon as her finger brushed against its flesh, the berry exploded a sweet, sticky substance all over her face.

“Catra?” Two of Huntara’s former goons came running up to them.

“We thought you deserted us!” said the horned goon.

“Uuuh…”

“Please forgive us!” The two girls bowed.

“Catra… what’s going on.” Adora couldn’t help but snicker, especially at the shocked look on Catra’s face.

“Impa and Liz came to the Valley of the Lost after you took that spaceship. They’ve been here with me since.”

“Impa and Liz?” asked Catra.

“I always just thought you were Horned Goon Girl,” Adora pointed to the goat girl. “And you were 4 Armed Lizard Girl.”

“What kind of names are those?” snapped the Horned Goon Girl. Huntara just laughed. “We have real names! I am Impa, and this is Liz,” she gestured to the four-armed lizard girl. “Though if Catra still wants to call me ‘Kyle’ I don’t mind.”

“You called her ‘Kyle,’ too?”

Catra shrugged. “Hordak sent me to the Crimson waste to die, and I was in a bad mood.”

Huntara was laughing harder now. “You guys crack me up. Come, let me show you what’s changed. You still gotta to keep your guard up, but things aren’t as bad as they were last time you were here.”

Huntara was right. Before, Adora felt like they had to always be on alert from sort of sneak attack, even without the Horde prowling about. Now, it seemed like everyone was too distracted with their new surroundings to notice potential victims. There were all sorts of new edible plants and easily accessible fruits and berries that didn’t always explode on touch. Delightful aromas that filled the air, masking the grungy smell from before. It was incredible the impact releasing the magic from the Heart had on a place as simple as this.

After trying a variety of the different fruits and other edible vegetation, Huntra offered them a couple of sacks of the delicious delicacies to bring back to Bright Moon.

“We’re staying here to help people adapt,” said Huntara.

“Catra, I hope you don’t mind or think of us unworthy, but we would like to stay here… if that’s ok,” asked Impa, nervously.

Catra shook her head. “I’m not your leader anymore. Do what you want to do. Impa,” she quickly added.

“Thank you!” Impa looked beyond pleased that Catra called her by name. Adora was going to have to get more details from her on this.

“Blondie?” Adora turned towards Huntara. “You did good.” Huntara smiled. “Don’t be a stranger! You are always welcome to the Valley of the Lost! Just make sure you look for me first, can’t promise you won’t get pick-pocketed next time.”

“Will do. And we’ll be back, I promise,” said Adora.

* * *

On the way back to Bright Moon, Catra filled Adora in with how she earned the respect from Impa and Liz and gained control of Tung Lasher’s gang, whoever he was. Adora could tell she had remorse for the way she treated them. Not wanting to take any chances of losing her friend again, she simply listened. Eventually, Adora got the opportunity to change topics by bringing up some of their fondest childhood memories, which lightened the mood significantly.

Their conversations came to an abrupt halt when Adora heard a weird groaning sound.

“Wait,” she said, stopping Catra in her tracks. “Listen.” For a moment, they could hear nothing but the chatter of wildlife, but then they heard the groaning again.

“Sounds like someone needs help.”

Catra sighed but was smiling all the same. “Always with the helping.”

Adora ran through the woods, stopping to listen and verify she was going in the right direction, before running again.

Finally, she found the source of the sound… Kyle hanging upside down in a tree.

“Heeeeeelp,” he grumbled, exhaustedly.

“Kyle?”

“Adora?” He perked up. “I know we are enemies and you deserted us and everything, but could you please help me down?”

“Sure,” said Adora, smiling, while Catra, who was perched on a branch above Kyle, sliced his rope.

“AAAAH!” Kyle yelled, as he landed roughly on the ground. He looked up at Adora, “How… how did you do that? Wait, was that a She-Ra thing?”

“No, that was a Catra thing,” said Catra, as she landed next to Kyle.

“Catra?”

“Yeeeeah?” Catra stood next to Adora’s side.

“You… you’re alive?”

“No, dummy, we’re ghosts.”

“Ooooooo!” Adora mocked.

“Not funny! I’m just surprised to see that you are friends again.”

“Oh, we’re more than that,” said Catra, as she quickly kissed Adora, wrapping her arms around her.

“I’m just… surprised. You two have been enemies for so long, I didn’t think you would ever be friends again.”

“Well, we are,” said Catra as she continued to cling to Adora, getting delight at Kyle’s uncomfortableness.

“How are the others doing?” Adora asked. “How are Lonnie and Rogelio?”

“They’re fine. Probably figured because I haven’t come back yet that I must have gotten stuck in one of my own traps, which is pretty much what happened. Not sure how I can go back to them empty-handed.”

“Here, take this.” Catra tossed one of the bags Huntara gave them to him.

“Um, thanks, Catra. Is this… some sort of trap?”

“No. I know I was terrible to you guys. Consider this my way of trying to apologize.”

“Oh, I will!” said Kyle, as he got to his feet, picking up the bag. “I can’t wait to tell them that I found you guys! Hey, why don’t you come with me back to our camp? I’m sure they’d be happy to see you!”

“Kyle, Lonnie wasn’t really happy with me last time I saw her, and you know she’s a grudge holder.”

“She wasn’t happy with me either. She was pretty mad that I left the Horde.”

“That’s true…” said Kyle. “But what do I tell them then?”

Adora put a hand on his shoulder. “Tell them you did a favor for someone, and they paid you in food. Don’t need to worry about the details. I’m sure we’ll cross paths again, eventually.”

“Great! Thanks guys!” As Kyle was about to leave, he stopped and turned around. “I’m really glad you are both ok. You, too, Catra.” He then left.

“He hasn’t changed much, has he?” said Catra.

“Doesn’t appear so, but is that really a bad thing?”

“It is in real battle.”

But we don’t have to worry about that anymore, do we?”

“No,” Catra smiled. “We don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for a few days. Hope you've enjoyed it so far! :)


	6. A Well-Earned Party

Glimmer must have dozed off despite her resistance. Her father had insisted that she take a nap before dinner. Not feeling tired, and wanting to be awake when Bow returned, she wasn’t fond of the idea. However, not in the mood to argue, she obliged.

When the door to her room swung open and slammed shut a second later, Glimmer slowly sat up, feeling dazed. After her brain was a little more awake, she peaked down from the side of her bed to see who came in. To no surprise, it was Bow. He had his back to the door and was panting.

“Your father has guards everywhere!”

Glimmer sighed. “I told him I’d be fine, but he’s my dad and he’s just trying to be protective. Glad your back!” Glimmer teleported down from her bed and wrapped herself around him. “So did you and your dads find anything helpful with the ship?”

“Yeeeeah, about that…We have a tiiiiiny change in plans.”

“What change?” asked Glimmer, suspiciously.

“Well, when I asked my dads about information on Darla, they got really excited and insisted on coming along.”

“What!?”

“I tried to stop them,” Bow said, defensively. “Really! I said we’ve handled it on our own before and that all we needed were some more resources, but they really wanted to come… they promise they won’t get in the way. And Lance is a really good cook,” he quickly added.

“This was supposed to be a Best Friends Squad trip! Just us! We don’t need baby-sitters!”

“I know,” said Bow, as he gently put a hand on her head. “But I do have some good news.”

“What,” grumbled Glitter, feeling defeated.

“There’s a party going on outside.”

“What?” Feeling slightly better, Glimmer teleported to the window and looked down. Sure enough, the streets of Bright Moon were teeming with joyous celebrators.

Bow joined her by the window. “Everyone is celebrating our victory against Horde Prime.” He reached out a hand towards her. “Come on, let’s go.” Glimmer took his hand and teleported them in the middle of the festivities. She looked around in awe and fascination. Never had she seen so many people from different villages and kingdoms, along with several Kyles intermingled about, come together like this. They all had the same mission, and they all succeeded. It was truly incredible and a huge mood booster.

There was music. There was dancing. Many had to stay clear from Swift Wind’s hooves as he kicked gleefully about. There was food. There were games. Glimmer noticed in the distance Frosta was teaching some kids her own age how to play Ice-Ball. It was nice to finally see her enjoy the opportunity to relax on her princess responsibilities.

Not too far away, Glimmer saw their dads having a lively conversation. George and Lance were laughing hysterically; hopefully her dad wasn’t telling them any embarrassing stories about her. Spinerella and Netossa were secluded from the others, giggling about something.

“Glimmer!” called a familiar voice. Scorpia gave a little wave with her claw while Perfuma was learning next to her.

“Hey guys! How was the Fright Zone?”

Scorpia shrugged. “It’s the Fright Zone. I found what I needed.”

“Where’s Adora?” asked Perfuma. “I usually don’t see you two without her.”

“She and Catra went to the Crimson Waste. I suspect they’ll be back soon. Oh, that reminds me!” She turned to Bow. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you the full story of She-ra!”

“Ooo, I want to hear!” said Scorpia. Glimmer proceeded to tell them the tale. Bow, Scorpia, and Perfuma were entranced with every detail. Glimmer tried to take her time; it was fun watching their anticipation of what was going to happen next.

“So that’s how Adora and Catra saved Etheria,” Glimmer concluded.

“Awww!” said Perfuma.

“That’s so adorable!” Bow squealed.

“Yeah… that’s really great.” Scorpia couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

* * *

“What is going on?” Catra clung to Adora’s arm, clearly feeling overstimulated as she and Adora stepped into the festivities of Bright Moon. Two Kyles quickly approached them.

“All hail Herde Prime!” They proceeded to bow before Catra.

“You’re dismissed,” Catra sighed offhandedly. The Kyles left while Adora didn’t bother to hide her snickering.

“It’s not funny.”

“It is to me.” Catra gave her a disapproving look. “Hey, it looks like everyone is celebrating,” said Adora, trying to change the subject.

“Thank you, Ms. Obvious,” Catra grumbled. Adora ignored her.

“Come on, let’s check it out!” Adora pulled Catra’s arm as they advanced into the crowd. If it wasn’t Adora, Catra would have resisted.

Adora has only experienced a couple of parties, but none compared to this. Even Glimmer must have been astounded. Unless, of course, she was in on it and that’s why she really wanted Adora and Catra to leave town. That wouldn’t have surprised Adora at all.

“Hey, look! It’s Mermista and Sea Hawk!” Adora pointed over to their two friends, who looked like they were playing some sort of ring toss game. As they made their way over to them, Adora still pulling Catra along, an overexcited woman jumped in front of them, blocking their path.

“You’re Adora, right? The She-Ra?”

“Yeah… “

“HEY EVERYONE! IT’S SHE-RA! SHE’S HERE!” A crowd quickly formed around her as she lost her grip of Catra’s arm.

“Catra!” Adora called, as Catra got pushed further and further away.

“Are you really She-Ra?”

“Can you turn into She-Ra?”

“We want She-ra!”

“It’s ok,” Catra called, hoping her voice could get over the excited mob. “I’ll be ok. Enjoy your moment of fame.” Adora nodded, as she turned into She-Ra.

“She-Ra!” called another familiar voice, as Swift Wind landed next to her. “Don’t forget about me, She-Ra’s noble steed!” In a majestic manner, he spread his wings out and proceeded to make heroic poses next to She-Ra.

Catra smiled. Her friend was always going to be famous. There was no changing that. As the crowd continued to expand, she was able to successfully sneak away.

* * *

After Glimmer and Bow departed, Scorpia let out a sad sigh.

“You ok?” asked Perfuma.

“Yeah.”

“You saw Catra as more than a friend, didn’t you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“You want to know a secret?”

“What?”

“I had a crush on Bow.”

“Wait, you had a crush on…”

“SSSH!” Perfuma hissed.

“Oh, sorry.”

“I’m not going to lie, I still have feelings for him, even though deep down inside I knew he and Glimmer were more than just friends. It hurts when I see them together, knowing I’ll never be the one in his arms. But I’m also happy, because he’s happy. I’ll get over it. I’ve already have, for the most part.”

Scorpia nodded. “That’s how I feel about Catra. She was always obsessed with Adora. I could never compete, as an enemy or a friend. It was always Adora this or Adora that. I wanted more, but Catra was… well, Catra.”

“She treated you terribly!”

“I know, but I also didn’t know what a real friend was like until I left the Fright Zone. The way she treated me was normal, how friends are supposed to treat one another. Kindness and respect, it’s new to me. Unfamiliar. But I like it.”

“I’m glad you finally know what a real friend is like,” smiled Perfuma.

“Me too. But the truth is, I always knew Catra was a good person inside, she just didn’t like to show it. She was afraid of opening herself up and getting hurt again, so to defend herself she pushed everyone away. It was sad to see her that way, but there was nothing I could do.”

Perfuma put both of her hands gently around one of Scorpia’s claws. “You and I might have both experienced heart break, but we are strong women! We will get through this together!” Scorpia blushed.

“Yeah, we will.”

“Aww, you two are so cute!” came a cheerful voice from behind them.

“Flutterina? Why do you look like that?” asked Scorpia.

“When it comes to festivities, Flutterina is my party side. Don’t I look cute?”

“Not particularly,” said Catra, as she approached the group.

“Well, that’s not very nice, Kitten.”

“You’re one to talk. You look ridiculous.”

“Well, I don’t have to put up with that negative behavior. Byeeee!” Flutterina disappeared into the crowd.

“You know, Double Trouble really helped us in defeating Horde Prime,” said Scorpia.

“That’s nice, but I still don’t like them.”

Scorpia shook her head. “Some things never change.”

“Where’s Adora?” asked Perfuma.

“Over there,” said Catra, pointing to the mob of people hovering over She-Ra and Swift Wind. “I guess that’s something I’ll have to get used to. But I don’t mind.”

“I’ve never seen you so happy before,” said Scorpia. “I really wanted to make you happy, I tried so hard, but I could never be Adora.”

Catra turned towards her friend. “Of course you could never be Adora! You’re Scorpia! You’re you and she’s she.” Catra paused. “You were such a good friend to me, and I just treated you poorly and pushed you away. I’m sorry.”

“I knew you were only doing that because you were hurting. I wanted so badly to take that pain away from you, but I guess what you really needed was Adora.”

“Yeah. I’ll admit, it wasn’t easy exposing my vulnerabilities and accepting her friendship again, but we got through. I guess that’s one thing I can thank Horde Prime for, as much as I don’t want to.”

“I’m happy for you, Catra. Truly, I am. And no hard feelings.”

“You’re… going to hug me, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am! Come here, Wild Cat! And you, too!” she pulled both of her friends into a classic Scorpia hug.

“All hail Herde Prime!” interrupted a few Kyles, who proceeded to bow before them.

“You’re dismissed.” The Kyles gleefully departed.

Scorpia, still holding her friends in a hug, gave Catra a quizzingly look. “What was that about?”

“It’s a… long story.”

* * *

“Hey,” said Glimmer nervously, interrupting the dad conversations.

“Well, hi there, Glimmer!” said Lance. “Did Bow tell you we’ll be joining you?”

“Yeah, he told me.”

“It’ll be fun,” said George. “And we promise we won’t be in the way.”

“Personally, I feel better with this arrangement,” said King Micah. “Not that I don’t trust you, Baby Girl, but…”

“You don’t trust me.”

“No! It’s… other things I don’t trust… you’re about to embark to unknown territories. I’d rather you be as prepared as you can.”

“She will be in safe hands,” said Bow. Micah gave him a side glance. “Plus, she’s very independent, and a good fighter, and a good friend, and she can handle herself…”

“Bow, it’s ok,” said King Micah, calmly. “After talking to George and Lance here, I feel reassured.”

“Entrapta is working on space suits for us,” said George.

“I can’t believe we’ll be going into outer space!” exclaimed Lance.

“Yeah, I guess it is exciting, when you’re not trying to find a kidnapped friend from a planet destroying maniac.” Bow gave Glimmer a little smile.

“Hello!” said a voice from behind, startling everyone. “It’s been awhile!”

“Hi. Um… who are you?” Glimmer stammered as she looked up at the clone.

“Can’t you tell?” They shook their heads. The clone pointed to a golden pin on his chest that had the letters ‘WH.’

“I am Wrong Hordak! Entrapta made me this pin. Hordak’s pin has just an ‘H’ on it.”

“Where is Hordak?” asked Bow.

“He is with Entrapta. They are going to Beast Island when they are done making the spacesuits for your friends.” He nodded towards George and Lance.

“You’re not going with them?” King Micah asked.

“No. Entrapta wants me to work with the other clones. Everyone I’ve met so far is named of Kyle. Very peculiar, but it’ll be an easy name to remember! I think the first thing I will teach them is how to wink.” He winked. King Micah, George, and Lance exchanged confused looks.

“We’ll explain it to you later,” said Bow.

* * *

As the festivities began to die down, though still in full motion, Adora was able to transform back into herself. A group of ladies desperately wanted the honor to braid Swift Wind’s mane and tail, so he delightfully left with them while Adora went to find her friends. She found Glimmer and Bow eating some sort of pink sticky substance while Catra was gently scratching Melog behind the ears.

“It’s about time you showed up,” said Catra, smiling.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. You’re She-Ra. It’s who you are and you will always be.” Adora felt relived to know that Catra wasn’t offended and understood her situation.

“Let’s go back up to the castle. We can talk better there.” said Glimmer, as she stood up. The four of them held hands while she teleported them up to the balcony while Melog teleported itself. From here, the noise of the festivities below were drowned out, but still quite apparent.

Glimmer filled Adora and Catra in with their new crew members. No one was thrilled with the idea of the additional company. Adora did her best to stay optimistic.

“They’re coming whether we like it or not. Having additional help will be nice. Plus we’ll have time to do some exploring, Best Friend Squad style.”

“That’s all we can do,” said Catra.

The four of them sat down on the cool stone surface of the balcony and gazed up at the stars, a phenonium that was still new to them. Tomorrow, they would be back up there amongst them.

* * *

**Bonus**

_(this won’t be part of the story)_

“Aaaadam.” It was that noise again. A woman calling out for someone named Adam. Kyle had heard the voice before when he was out scavenging for food. He had debated whether or not he should look for this Adam fellow, because clearly this person couldn’t find him.

“Aaaaadam.”

“That’s it!” said Kyle out loud, as he dropped the few berries he had collected on the forest floor. Listening for the voice, he tried to follow the sound, periodically calling Adam himself.

“AAAAdam.” The voice was getting louder. Kyle was getting closer.

He stepped into a clearing, and there in the ground was a strange sword.

“AAAADAM.” The voice was… the sword? That didn’t make any sense. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he walked up to the sword and put his hand on the handle. Gripping it tightly, he lifted the sword out from the ground.

All of a sudden, the world began spinning as he was filled with this strange sensation. A sensation of power. Of strength. When the spinning stopped, he realized he was now a few feet taller. His shirt had ripped off revealing his bare chest and a gorgeous set of abs. He flexed his abs.

“Nice!” It was hard to know what he looked like, but he felt stronger than he ever felt before. He leaned slightly against a tree, toppling it to the ground.

“Woah.”

“Hello there, Adam,” said the familiar monotne voice, startling Kyle. A hologram of a woman popped up from the spot where he pulled the sword.

“I’m not Adam,” he stammered. “I’m Kyle. And you are…”

“I am Light Hope 3.5,” said the woman. “My original version made back-up copies of me in case She-Ra failed.”

“Ok…I’m not sure what that means exactly. Or what this has to do with me.”

“You are Adam, Adora’s twin brother.”

“No, I am not Adam. I am Kyle. Ky-le.”

“No, you are Adam,” Light Hope insisted. “You were supposed to stay with Adora when I pulled you two in from the portal, but you were separated. The couple who took you in named you ‘Kyle.’ I thought it was good fortune when you ended up in the Horde with your sister. However, upon realizing you did not have the skills or strength compared to hers, when the time came to introduce Adora to She-Ra, you were not ready. Your mission was to assist Adora, but you were too weak, so you were never introduced to He-Man.”

“He-man. Really? That’s what I am?”

“That’s correct.”

“The male version of She-Ra?”

“That is correct. You are She-Ra’s twin brother.”

Kyle shook his head. “This makes no sense! Why are you telling me this _now_?”

“To mock you.”

Kyle shot up from his sleeping bag. Of course it was a dream. Nothing amazing like that could happen to him. His subconscious was probably just jealous of Adora. With his mind now wide awake, Kyle got up grudgingly and left the tent. He only stopped a couple of feet before he tripped over something on the ground. Of course. Typical Kyle move to not pay attention to where he was going. He-Man would never have this problem. Groaning, he pushed himself up from the dirt and turned to see what he had tripped over. There, just a few feet away, was the sword, the exact one from his dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s notes  
> For those who don’t know, Noelle Stevenson and the She-Ra staff had a running joke that Kyle was actually He-Man. Not my original idea by any means, but I thought it was funny and decided to run with it. 😊 Huge thanks to the She-Ra Fandom page for this information, and for being an essential resource for writing this FanFic.


	7. To Space!

“Do we really need all of this stuff?”

“We don’t know how long we’ll be traveling, Glimmer.”

“But where are we going to put everything?” Glimmer looked disapprovingly at the boxes and boxes of things George and Lance had already bought on board. The ship had plenty of room, but this amount of supplies was overkill.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Baby Girl. I’d feel safer if you are over prepared than under prepared.”

“But daaaaad!”

“Do this for me.”

“I’m here,” said Catra, as she dropped two bags on the ground.

“Where’s Adora?”

“She said she’d be here in a few minutes. She had to check something.”

“What is she checking?”

Catra shrugged. “I don’t know. As I was about to ask, she took off.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes. “Sounds like Adora.”

“Dad, do we REALLY need this lamp?”

“What if it gets dark and we need light? It never hurts.”

“But we don’t need all of this stuff!” exclaimed a frustrated Bow.

“That’s what I keep saying!” said Glimmer.

“This is going to be an interesting trip,” grumbled Catra, as she plopped down next to the bags. Melog, who had been pacing around the room tensely, perked up after spotting Catra and happily bounded towards her.

Catra smiled. “You all set?” Melog made a mew noise of approval. Catra watched the show the others were performing, knowing it was wisest to not intervene.

After about an hour, where Catra had already dosed off after concluding that any resolution seemed impossible, Adora finally arrived. “I’m here!” she said, panting. “What’s going on?”

“They’ve been doing nothing but arguing,” she said groggily, as she rubbed her eyes. “Where were you anyways?”

“I was trying to find Madame Razz.”

“Who?”

“She’s this strange old lady who lived in the Whispering Woods. I’ve been to her place many times, but for some reason I couldn’t find it again.”

“Ok… and you were trying to find her because…”

“She’s the one who’s guided me with my role as She-Ra.”

“I thought that was Light Hope.”

“It was. But Madam Razz was helping me in her own… Madam Razz way. Plus she wasn’t corrupted like Light hope. I think, anyways. She also helped Mara, the She-Ra before me.”

“Isn’t Mara a thousand years old, or something like that?”

“Yes.”

“So this Madame Razz person is how old?’

“I… I don’t know. Very old. To be honest, I don’t know much about her. She’s very mysterious and gets confused easily.”

“Finally!” sighed an exasperated Glimmer. “You can keep everything, but those four boxes over there have to go. Adora! You’re here!”

“Yeah, had to make a quick errand.”

“Success?” asked Bow.

“No, but it’s fine. What’s with all the stuff?”

“Don’t go there. Please!”

“I’ll take this as my cue to go,” said Micah. He wrapped Glimmer in a huge hug. “Take care and be safe. I love you, Baby Girl.”

“I love you, too, Dad.” Micah, George, Lance, and Bow each picked up one of the boxes they were taking off the ship. As Micah was leaving, he leaned over and whispered in Adora’s ear ,“Don’t forget.”

“I won’t.”

Once they were out of earshot, Glimmer slumped in the pilot’s chair. “This is going to be a loooooong trip. I really wish it was just the four of us.” Melog gave a little growl. “I mean five of us.” Melog gave an approved grunt.

“Well, there’s not much we can do about it. Like Adora said, maybe it’ll be nice to have some help. I mean, we were lucky we didn’t blow up the ship when it hadn’t flown in… how many years?”

“Too many,” said Adora. “And Catra’s right. No one is happy, so we’ll just have to make the best of it.”

“Sorry for being grumpy. I was just so anxious about the trip last night that I had a hard time getting to sleep. Then I woke up with one of the royal guards holding my hand. She freaked out and left before I could ask what she was doing.”

“That’s… weird,” said Adora.

“Tell me about it.”

“Adora had trouble sleeping, too. I had to wake her up once because she was sleep fighting.” Adora blushed. She had another bad dream where she and Catra were enemies again. Terrified of losing Catra again, she kept the details of her dreams to herself. For now, the generic ‘bad dream’ excuse seemed to work, as long as Catra didn’t press for more information.

“We’re all set!” said Bow, as he, George, and Lance returned to the ship.

“Great!” said Glimmer. Everybody got into positions. This was it. The Best Friend Squad was heading back to space!

* * *

The takeoff was uneventful, which was perfectly fine for Darla’s passengers. Bow was giving George a run through of the ship’s control panels with Melog supervising, while Glimmer, Catra, and Adora helped Lance carry the rest of their food supplies into the galley.

As the three of them returned, Glimmer went to join Bow and George while Catra pulled Adora’s hand away from the others towards one of the ship’s windows.

“Back in space, and this time not running to or from anything,” she said, eyes gazing lovingly into Adora’s.

“It’s certainly a nice change of pace. I just hope She-Ra can help the rest of the galaxy after all of the damage Horde Prime has done.”

“She will.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“Because she had faith in me and I have faith in her.” Catra put her hands on Adora’s shoulders, trying to shift her focus. Adora finally caught on and grinned. As they were leaning in to kiss, excitement from the cockpit interrupted them.

“There’s a planet up ahead!” Bow announced, while Melog’s tail drooped. Adora and Catra joined the others as they looked out of the window. There was a large brown planet up ahead that, from a distance, looked deserted of life.

“Should we go there?” Bow asked.

“It doesn’t hurt,” said Adora. Melog gave a sad mew. Catra kneeled down beside the majestic creature.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, softly. Melog looked at her with gloomy eyes while giving some sorrowful mews.

“What did Melog say?” asked Glimmer.

“That planet used to be full of life, but the magic it used to possess has long been harvested by Horde Prime. There’s nothing left.”

“Then perhaps we should go to another planet?” suggested George. 

“No,” said Adora. “There’s got to be something left. I have to try.” Melog gave another longing mew.

“Ok, then here we go,” said Bow. “Get ready to land!”

* * *

The planet looked even more dismal as they disembarked. The soil was hard, dry, and a boring shade of brown. There were no signs that life had ever existed. Large craters were scattered about the planet’s surface, but otherwise everything looked the same in all directions.

“Adora, I know you want to try and bring life back to the planet like you did for Etheria, but this looks like a lost cause.”

“I have to agree with Catra on this one,” said Glimmer.

“I still have to try,” said Adora. “If Horde Prime harvested this planet, then there was life here at one point. There’s got to be something left.”

She turned away from her friends and walked towards one of the craters. They didn’t realize that if she didn’t try, the regret of not knowing if she could have made things better would have plagued her.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” she said out of habit, her arm outstretched towards the bleak sky. She could feel the smooth metal of the sword’s hilt materialize in her hand. Wrapping her fingers firmly around the hilt, she took the sword and plunged it into the ground.

On Etheria, She-Ra could feel the magic bursting from the ground, through the sword, and into her. It expanded and grew, overwhelming the planet with its healing powers. The sensation was beyond words. What she was feeling now was quite the opposite.

Pouring all her energy into the sword, she dug deep into the planet’s surface. However, all she could feel was nothingness, like life had never existed on the planet. Not even death or decay could be found.

But there had to be a sign of life somewhere.

She kept pushing.

Straining.

Her body was shaking, but it didn’t slow her down.

Then she felt something.

It was very faint, but there was definitely something there. Unless it was just her imagination playing tricks on her?

She had to keep pushing.

She heard a voice call her name. “Adora! Stop!”

But she couldn’t stop. She was almost there. She could feel it.

The voice got louder, more panicked. She could feel the shaking intensify. Pain had encompassed her body. She felt weak, but she wasn’t going to stop.

She was so close.

“ADORA!”

She must have blacked out for a moment. When she came back to her senses, she was Adora again, kneeling on the ground, shaking, with Catra’s arms wrapped around her. Catra was weeping while she muttered “idiot” over and over. Melog nuzzled her hand giving a disappointed mew.

Adora looked up and saw Glimmer, Bow, Lance, and George watching from a distance, their faces filled with shock.

“Adora,” said Bow, quietly. “You really have to be careful. You can’t solve everything, and that’s ok! That’s what we’re here for, to support you. But we can’t help you if you…”

“Die,” said Glimmer, finishing Bow’s sentence.

“Did I almost…die?”

“I think you would have just passed out first, but… I don’t know,” said Lance, as Catra let go of her grip.

“You should probably get some rest,” said George.

“I think we could all use some nourishment,” said Lance. “I have plenty of snacks ready to be eaten!”

Catra quietly helped Adora to her feet, clearly not pleased with Adora’s recklessness.

This was going to be tougher than she thought.


End file.
